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Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho claim they have ended their bitter war of words

Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho claim they have ended their bitter war of words

The old enemies have both said the war is over and that there is no
animosity between them, but all eyes will be on the dugouts when Arsenal
take on Chelsea

Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger

PA

They both claim the feud is over.
But when Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger stare into the whites of each other’s eyes at The Emirates, nobody really believes the animosity will have disappeared.
It was too bitter, too intense, too venomous for everything to be forgotten over a few cosy meals.
Remember the “voyeur” jibe, Mourinho’s claim that Wenger was obsessed with events at Stamford Bridge, using his “big telescope” to peer over the fence into Chelsea’s back garden?
It was a pernicious allegation, said for effect, aware of the
connotations and the disgraceful abuse the Frenchman has been on the
receiving end of ever since an allegation, fuelled by City of London
traders, and angrily refuted on the steps of Highbury soon after his Arsenal reign began.
That was all part of Chelsea boss Mourinho’s famous “dossier”, a 120-page compilation of everything he believed Wenger had said against himself and Chelsea.
In fact, the “dossier” was merely a collection of cuttings from
newspapers, collated in the top drawer of the club’s former director of
communications.Arsene Wenger claims the managers have put aside their differences

Clive Rose

Mourinho tried to make an issue of former Arsenal vice-chairman David
Dein’s role at the FA, even venturing into Dan Brown territory.
“Some clubs are treated as devils, some are treated as angels,” he
said. “I don’t think we are so ugly that we should be seen as the devil
and I don’t think Arsene Wenger and David Dein are so beautiful that
they should be viewed as angels.”
But it was a two-way street. When Wenger spoke about “moral
integrity” we all knew who was in his sights. Arsenal, remember, went
for the jugular after Mourinho and Peter Kenyon brazenly tapped up
Ashley Cole.The Arsenal boss
was cutting in his comments. Referring directly to his rival, he said:
“When you give success to stupid people, it makes them more stupid
sometimes and not more intelligent.”
Later, as Mourinho sniped away even after his departure from Chelsea,
Wenger responded: “What matters is the way you play, the way you
behave, the competition itself. To win trophies is important but that’s
not the only thing in sport.”
So it went on, an undercurrent that outlived their on-field rivalry,
which made Mourinho’s peace offering in the summer more surprising.
The Portuguese insisted he had altered his opinion of Wenger, whom he
described as “a very nice guy”, adding: “I’ll show my respect always. I
wouldn’t bet for one single problem between us.”
Last night, Wenger, likely to raid his youth ranks to fill out the
starting side against Chelsea’s shadow team, stuck to his side of the
bargain.
Quizzed over his relationship with Mourinho, Wenger said: “With all competitors there are ups and downs.
“You could see that again on Sunday between (Manuel) Pellegrini and
Mourinho, because we put our whole heart into every single game.Chelsea's manager Jose Mourinho celebrates with the crowd after they scored their second goal

Empics

“Sometimes we go overboard and that is part of the job. With the distance after, it always settles.
“It was not a big surprise that he has come back because there was
talk about it many times. When he left Madrid, it looked to be one of
his best opportunities to come back.
“What the Premier League wants first is the quality of the games and
with his teams you will always a tough game. That is what you want.”
So far, so good, and Mourinho, set to include David Luiz, Juan Mata,
Willian and Samuel Eto’o after rowing back on his threat to field an
under-18 side, opted for no more than a gentle wind-up.
Moaning, with reason, about being forced to play barely 48 hours
after the win over Manchester City, Mourinho joked: “If they want us not
to win a trophy, that’s a help. If they want Arsenal to win a trophy,
that’s a help too!
“Arsene and myself, we have no problems, no problems. Unless you tell
me that he had an influence on this (fixture date). But if you tell me
that...if you tell me that...”
This time there was a mischievous smile, nothing more. Would you bet
on it lasting 45 minutes tonight, let alone the whole game? Not on past
history.
And with 9,000 Chelsea fans ensuring an even more boisterous
atmosphere than normal for a last 16 clash in the Capital One Cup, you
suspect as much scrutiny will fall on the interaction between the two
benches as anything that takes place on the pitch.